Running pro Sam Clifford is set for his marathon debut. A painful 'look in the cupboard' is spurring him on
Sam Clifford is a bloody good runner — so good, in fact, that no Aussie in history has run 10 kilometres on the road as fast as the young bloke from Tassie.
He's also a bloody funny character.
"I'm in a wet suit," he said jokingly as rain lashed Sydney last week.
"Got me goggles and cap ready to go."
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Fortunately, being in taper mode for the Sydney Marathon, Clifford didn't have to get out the door to run so often last week.
Supremely fit and as fresh as the brisk Tassie air, the 23-year-old is set to lace up his runners for his marathon debut.
Sam Clifford winning this year's Sydney Harbour 10. Sydney Harbour 10
He'll be one of 35,000 taking on the Sydney Marathon on Sunday as the event marks its first year as a "major", joining Berlin, London, Tokyo, New York City, Boston and Chicago.
It nags away at Clifford that he's only donned the green and gold of Australia on one occasion, and that that one time, at the 2019 world cross-country championships in Denmark, was so long ago.
He hopes the Sydney Marathon "elevates" his career.
"There'll be plenty of opportunity for me next year to get back in the green and gold," Clifford said in a chat with Wide World of Sports.
"I look in the cupboard back home when I'm in Tassie and I just see one kit. It doesn't haunt me, but I would like another one.
"Sydney is one of those opportunities where it's a very, very fast field, and it's the first year it's a world major. I seem to run really well when the competition's a lot higher. You're there to rock up, you're they're ready to go and show up.
Sam Clifford after winning the Sydney Harbour 10. Sydney Harbour 10
"So I'm hoping that Sydney elevates my career again from a performance standpoint.
"It doesn't have to be anything ridiculous; I just want there to be an intention that you want to be there with the best."
Clifford hails from Lagana, a suburb on the outskirts of Launceston, but he moved to Sydney in January, looking for a change of scene and to be more of a "student of the game".
He's punching out the miles with a brilliant squad of runners, including 2:12 marathoner Ed Goddard and former Commonwealth Games steeplechaser James Nipperess.
In a breakthrough run in Tokyo in May, he clocked 27:34 in a 10km road race to break the national record held by Jack Rayner.
Understandably, his expectations for his debut marathon are in check.
"We're just looking to be competitive," said Clifford, who's a professional runner with ASICS.
From left: Second place Sam Clifford, winner Isaac Heyne and third place Thomas Do Canto after sweeping the podium at this year's City to Surf. Edwina Pickles
"Under 2:10 would be a really good day ... I'm not putting any time pressure on it; I just want to be competitive in that sort of environment. I've got a good field and a good atmosphere around and I just want to enjoy the experience; it's my first marathon.
"I'm not gonna be able to do my marathon debut again, so to make the most of it is really what I'm looking forward to the most."
As Clifford pointed out, the 23-year-old is "the younger one in the field" — a field headlined by 40-year-old Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, admired universally as the greatest marathon runner of all time.
In the race for first Aussie home, or first to the Opera House, via iconic areas such as The Rocks and Centennial Park, he'll be up against Brett Robinson, 34, Liam Adams, 38, and 39-year-old dad Thomas Do Canto.
"But I'm not letting age be a factor to why I can or can't perform well at a major event," Clifford said.
Eliud Kipchoge in Sydney on Thursday. Sam Mooy
He admits standing on a start line with Kipchoge will feel "strange".
"It's nothing that I would have thought I would do in my lifetime," Clifford said.
He'll set off with the GOAT, and the other tens of thousands, from North Sydney's Miller Street at 6.30am.
"I want to see how Kipchoge goes about it," Clifford said.
"He's a very disciplined person.
"If there's any opportunity where I can learn something ... You don't have to necessarily talk to the dude; you just look and watch how he goes about it.
"I just have to make sure I get to the line, and then it's game on from there."
